Confession time: we weren't exactly charmed by Sony's PSP Go when Sony
made the thing official. It's not that we're particularly fond of UMD (quite the contrary as a matter of fact), rather we found it a little hard to stomach a slimmer device that offers nearly the same hardware as
its predecessor, swapping an optical drive for more storage, yet will cost nearly twice as much. Factor in the cost of all new accessories and things get even less appealing, with confirmation that the Go lacks a standard mini USB port on top, meaning things like PSP
keyboards and Sony's
GPS accessory are on a fast-track to obsolescence. Even current A/V cables and chargers won't work thanks to a new multifunction port on the base -- but Sony will be quite happy to sell you new ones. Is this the price of progress, or an attempt to boost profit margins? It's not good news for gamers, regardless.
posted Jun 8th 2009 7:11AM
I'm still shaking my head... how does this not have a touchscreen?
It's because it is just an updated PSP, not a new console.
SECOND ANALOGUE WAT LULZ
Cause not everyone likes touching. It's makes things pretty hard.
@dsteve303
Dude, reread your comment and give it a second to pass through the naughty sector of your brain. When you get it you will s*** bricks.
@Tarnation
Shits bricks because he made some double meaning remarks? You must not know what the term means AND be from the bible belt.
Also he probably did that deliberate as a joke heh.
There goes my breakfast... time to get a new laptop..
I say nay to touchscreen games.
Well that sucks, because it means having to pony up for Sony's proprietary Crap instead of using existing cables you have lying around. Also means buying all new accessories to use with the PSP Go.
No, it mean that you don't buy this device at all. simple.
"proprietary "
Sony must lose this word out of their dictionaries. Otherwise they would dominate. The PSPgo will only appeal to fanboys.
@Smoke_me_a_Kipper
Probably too late since apple comes before proprietary in the dictionary and we all have a feeling where they got the idea from.
@June
I think this is great. Drop the prices on the old PSP xD
Well, it's not so surprising for Sony. They always use their own docks, batteries, and connectors. For goodness sake, they have their own flash memory!
Certainly, Sony believes it's a brand people aspire to own. But in an economy like this, people like that are getting fewer and fewer.
Boost Margins. Trust me, I know.
@dsteve
I bet you're right, but unfortunately for Sony, PISSING PEOPLE OFF WITH PROPRIETARY CRAP will not boost profits. It'll only make them stick with the DS.
Get a grip, Sony.
They could have added the mini USB too for compatibility and still have a move to their new connector by slowly encouraging people to start using that.
This is straight out of the apple play book. Each new itteration isn't compatable with anything and everything you bought for your previous device. People buy the new device, have to buy everything again...profit.
@ Jay
You make a good point, but the PSP doesn't have near the market share the iPod has, so Sony won't be able to make that "play" work for this device like Apple's been able to do for the iPods/iPhone.
*looks at the dock connector that's been on the bottom of every iPod since the third gen*
Whatnow?
Sure, they turned off Firewire charging, but that's a cost thing. The only stupidity I can think of is the whole video-out debacle, which is really dumb, but they've got NOTHING on Sony.
(Betamax, DAT, MiniDisc, ATRAC, ATRAC3, HiFD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG, Memory Stick Micro, Memory Stick PRO-HG Micro, UMD, proprietary flash hotshoe on several Sony/Minolta cameras, a DIFFERENT proprietary hotshoe on many pro video cameras, rootkitted audio CDs, Memory Stick Voice recorder [msv] files, proprietary monitor connectors on older VAIO PCs, the upcoming TransferJet, their stupid e-Book reader, SACD, Blu-spec CD, yadda yadda yadda...)
Yeah, with Sony's history, does anyone really think they're NOT doing this just to make more money?
@Jay Voorhees
Exactly. While I agree that this is crap, since Sony is doing this, they get slammed. Apple does it constantly and it's totally OK somehow. Right, Engadget?
@ Jay Voorhees "This is straight out of the apple play book."
No, it's not. Apple's stuff is proprietary, but they don't release new stuff that immediately invalidates existing peripherals or compatibility with older models. Get your accusations straight.
Something I don't get... if you have a game on UMD you can sell it second hand easy enough. Is this even possible if you've downloaded it? We've already heard that a game will be the same price either way you get it.
It may be a way to prevent second-hand sales of games which would in turn mean more sales of games. Confirmation on this would be nice.
Honestly, I just don't see how this "download only" system is going to work. At best, you'll end up spending more money on the full-priced digital version which can't be resold. Meanwhile, normal PSP owners will still be able to buy price-dropped PSP based games, not to mention used games for much less. Um. What's the point of the Go again?
And from a piracy point of view, download only just seems like a bad idea as all you have to do now is crack the file to allow it be uploaded to any PSP an unlimited number of times. At least with the older PSP, you weren't allowed to upload executibles to it unless you hacked the PSP itself, which posed some dangers of its own. But since the PSP-Go is designed to only allow uploads, you're already half-way home. I'm sure the hackers and crackers of the world thank Sony for making their jobs that much simpler.
that's why sony is on the way down, i don't even buy sony cameras now because of their stupid memory sticks
I'm sure they use a popular game soon to sneakily piggyback an install of a 'security service' that disables all USB ports and SD card readers, to fix such issues.
sony really in touch with the people here.
Everything should have a mini USB port. Imagine if you only had to remember one cable, and it would charge and sync your phone, your mp3 player, your DS/PSP, pfft.
Miniusb doesn't offer enough pins to handle other functions then just charging and syncing. ie. Things like video out, or docking with media systems.
No one seems to complain when Apple or HTC use proprietary connectors...
Actually, I don't like that Apple uses proprietary connectors... although my complaint with the ipod is more about how music gets on the device on the software side. Still, anything proprietary makes me less likely to purchase it. Consequently, I've hardly bought anything from Sony.
My psp 1000 works fine with all my mini usb cables. infact i think i lost the original, picked up another one layign anround and POW! back in day bizzznasss.
This is the best Sony device I have ever owned (and I've owned a lot): http://bit.ly/19m8GZ [Amazon]
The lack of USB might be an attempted roadblock for installing cfw (though iirc, the 1000 and 2000 series cfw's didn't require a USB connection), but these proprietary connectors are a hugh PITA.
HTC's continual use of a USB based headset connector is the source of endless (and entirely justified) bitching.
Microsoft should release some mobile gaming device with older pc games. I would gladly pay 300$ for play Warcraft, starcraft, morrowind, neverwinter nights... on the go.
Yeah because Microsoft is known for their open hardware policies. Just look at the 360! I'm still waiting for a 360 hard drive that isn't ridiculously overpriced.
This article is sort of ridiculous for a couple reasons:
1. It doesn't cost twice as much as another PSP. The PSP 3000 is 170 dollars right now yes? How is 250 'nearly twice as much?'
2. People that actually upgrade from one PSP to another are rare, even if they are common on websites like Engadget, so ponying up for 'new' cables is rather irrelevant. Sure it's nice to use existing mini USB cables, I'll agree with that.
I know you're all for web site hits but I think all this sensationalist crap is a bit much.
@John Branca : Exactly.
Also,
1)unless I'm mistaken, the cables come bundled with the device.
2) No PSP 2000/ 3000 owner would sell their PSP and get this because it doesn't offer a big enough upgrade. It's clearly aimed at first time buyers.
In closing, I don't see why this is a big deal.
Umm...I think they call them laptops. I would be willing to bet some of the games you mentioned might even play on an ION netbook. Microsoft wouldn't dare mess with the handheld market until they have successfully sold Natal and properly integrated Zune stuff with XBL. I don't see an Xbox Portable for a very long time.
@Synn
"It's clearly aimed at first time buyers."
You mean the huge untapped market that was putting off their purchase of a PSP until it got $80 more expensive.
IDK, I don't really get the whole portable gaming thing, then again I'm still rockin' my Xbox and PS2.
I like the idea of Microsoft making a portable. I'd go for it. On top of that, if they were smart they'd pull their XNA community over with it. They don't have a lot of great exclusive IP to work with, but what they do have they could probably work with. They've already got the means to distribute digitally with XBLA. Note to Ms: dual analog sticks (+ d pad). DON'T get that one wrong!! And if they were really smart, they'd make it compatible with their own wireless control pads.
As for this whole PSPgo [crap], while pretty much all of us here think this is a bad idea (myself included), no doubt Sony's trying to work the area of the market we usually don't think about: casual, brainless consumers. Why I say "brainless" is because these are the folk who won't know (or care) about homebrew, let alone research it, converting movies to a format the PSP understands, buying GPS or other cool apps, etc... They just want something "cool" that "plays games" and is "small".
... Nope, trying to convince myself that Sony did a good thing with PSPgo by typing it out didn't work. This thing is crap.
I call it!...
...
a netbook. Duh.
Ahh sony, never learning are you? if you wanted a different device, MAKE THE PSP GO DIFFERENT TO THE PSP!!!
Gamers don't mind paying for new peripherals and so on if they get something new, but this thing is a PSP with a 16GB memory card, something which can be bought anyway for a lot less money
Since developers are getting bored, bring out the PSP 2, put dual (Read: TWO) analog sticks on and add motion control,( maybe a touchscreen?) and THEN different accesories are acceptable
this is why i hope sony will burn in hell... They keep trying to control the market with proprietary hardwares.
Hopefully PS3 will fail spectacularly and send sony in the red (ala sega), and then we will see next gran turismo series be released on x360.
Actually Sony lets you use any USB keyboard, compatible bluetooth headset, USB drive, install your own HDD, etc, etc.
They are much more open than their competition, they're just borderline insane with their pricing.
I'm not exactly sure why you want them to burn in hell though, that's rather strong I'd say.
Sooooo... You want sony to die so Microsoft can rule the console world because you don't like companies that tries to control the marked with proprietary stuff? You know, the company that controls the OS marked, the office suite marked and the browser marked, and currently try to control the cellphone, pmp, media plugin for browser and the console marked? And Microsoft is always been well known for beeing open..?!?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but last I checked Sony has other divisions in it's company (computers, tvs, etc...). I doubt the fail of the PS3/PSP will make it go into the 'red'. Now, if you're speaking of SCE, which is the subsidiary of the Sony corporation. It could be closed down but I doubt Sony would do so. It would probably just go back to the drawing board.
However, I wouldn't worry about the PS3 failing. It was released a full year after the 360, yet it is only 8 million units in overall sales behind Microsoft. As another bonus, the PS3 has done considerably better than the Xbox in several markets. With further PS3 exclusives coming soon, it's star is just on the rise. Besides, if you're mad about Gran Turismo not coming out on your Xbox, I'm equally mad that Mass Effect 2 is an Xbox exclusive. So this argument about controlling the market bears no weight with Sony alone. I mean, you're practically saying Microsoft hasn't tried to control the market which is ludicrous.
As for the PSP Go, I like the new style. I believe it's an upgrade in aesthetics over the original's. The fact you can download games means faster delivery from development to hardware which will make release dates come quicker. I doubt I'll purchase the PSPGo but I'm definitely interested with where the hardware will go from here.
360 can't handle Gran Turismo
Actually, I was thinking "no USB, WTF Sony DIAF", but then I thought about their batteries, so just give it time.
That said, I'm rather fond of my PS3.
Excuse me if I'm wrong, Zach, but I think Sony IS relying heavily on their PS-series.
If I remember correctly, Sony attributed their retrenching of employees and poor annual revenue due to the loss of the popularity of their console.
PS2 made them alot of money - probably more than all other departments combined in its heyday.
With PS3 poised to fail and PSP Go fanboy-only-material, things aren't looking too bright for them.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but the PS3 already has failed. So has the PSP.
Slimmer, more memory and most of the old accessories wont work. Where have I heard that before...
But the Fail Police still seem to be here.
the usb cable comes with the system http://www.us.playstation.com/PSP/Systems/pspgo.html it even under sonys website
It is things just like this that have made me hate Sony for nearly 20 years now... the saving grace was their LCD TV and PS3 which I love. Otherwise, I refused to ever participate in the proprietary game that Sony plays.
Actually, every company that makes proprietary connetors to sell you accessories are worthless criminals. They could make universal connectors, but chose not to. Shamelss and hopefully Soon to be out of business, all of them.
How about they put some essential buttons in the headphone cable? That would be 'fun', maybe soon in PSP Go II
Actually Wwhat, I hate Apple even more than I hate Sony, ;)
By the way, I usually like your comments. Keep up the good work. :)
One step forward, two steps back. I think the only way these companies will learn is if NOBODY buys it. And we all know that isn't going to happen. I'm not going to be one of the suckers, though.
Next they'll say it's going to have a non-removable battery and proprietary headphone jack as well.
Let me be the first to say that this thing is going to be a big flop. If it's all about downloading games onto a portable device, people will do that with their iPhones and Touches, or just use their current PSP.
Awesome. Just like the four other times.
PLZ BY MOARH AKSYSOREES
-Sony
that's sony for you. not that nintendo or xbox don't do their fair share of forcing you to buy something else with their new products, but not this bad. I mean, Nintendo even gave us a GBA port on the DS for a long time.
I think Sony just needs to make up for their losses on the PS3 with this crippled and overpriced PSP. And i would say, "hey, they're a big company! they know what people want at a certain price so i'm sure the amount of people they want to buy it will." But... you know... with the PS3 and all it's hard to say that with sony.
I found them:
http://tr.im/failpolice
Fail fail?
yes... FAIL
Whats a privacy filter (bottom left)?
It makes the viewing angle much more narrow.
All I know is the Sony execs should go to the fail jail.
First the wand sex toy thing and now this. I am betting they won't support most of your old UMD games, because they aren't compatible or some BS and we will get screwed even harder.
How does that work anyhow what is to stop someone from getting all their games from UMD to download and then dumping those things on some poor sap or a kid. Assuming they won't be allowed to use the same disc for download purposes. Or will you have to send Sony back your UMDs as a sort of trade thing.
This also tarnishes Sony's green credentials as all these obsolete accessories are not easy to recycle and will flood landfill in poor distant nations, leaking PCBs and other endocryne distruptors into the water and food supply. Simple solution: Refuse to buy Sony. Note that the latest Samsung and Nokia phones both use standard ports, such as mini/micro USB, 3.5mm audio jacks etc.
It is precisely this lack of forward considerate thinking by Sony that is why they are in the financial doldrums. Even their new mobile phones lack 3.5mm and USB jacks. Anyway, the iPhone / iPod Touch are the future of gaming. It won't be long before someone offers a snap on joypad setup for the Apple toys, rendering the need for custom gaming solutions obsolete. See Need For Speed running on an iPod Touch and you'll see how close (close!) Apple are to rendering the PSP obsolete.
...And then someone calls you and you have to quit out of your game.
too greedy to boost the margin...
Yes. This PSP offers less. I don't own a PSP anymore as I found very little use with the device (the game selection was not for me), but everyone I know who owns a PSP owns one because they can hack it and play whatever they want for free.
Unless this PSP gets hacked, I see no reason anyone would buy it. Lacking a UMD drive doesn't matter for hackers (as they'd play off a memory card anyway), but owners of real games won't like not being able to trade-in games they've become tired of.
While I am not a huge PSP fan, (had one and sold it cuz I hated the controls) I do not agree with the accessories becoming obsolete. Sony has said this will be sold in addition to the other PSP. I suppose Sony is not counting on someone owning both or even considering an upgrade. They are banking on people having either one or the other. Both are doomed IMHO...
Engadget became extremely partial... they love Aple, Xbox and Alienware... and that's all! I wonder what kind of "interests" are hidden in the backstage! This is purely sensationalist crap, aimed at flaming public opinion about a particular brand/product. Absurd, for a website of this proportion.
I'm not a fan of proprietary ports, but I wonder how versatile the Bluetooth will be. They've already said it will be able to pair headsets, but what about keyboards or other accessories? Could you use it to transfer data? These things would make me less upset.
While I agree that it's too bad the PSP Go will require different cables, it kind of surprises me that no one has yet mentioned that Nintendo has pulled the exact same stuff with the DS.
Want to use your existing car charger from your DS on your DS Lite? Sorry, incompatible.
How about one of your extra AC adapters from your DS Lite on your DSi ? Nope, incompatible.
Want to use your Guitar Hero DS on your DSi ? Nope, sorry-- incompatible.
Play GBA games that were supported on your DS and DS Lite on your DSi? Nope, sorry, incompatible.
Or, moving past Nintendo... want to use your Bose Sounddock with your iPhone 3G? Well you can still play music with it, but you can't charge it. Same with that expensive $400 iPod car system you bought from your car dealer a few years back... it'll play music, but it won't charge it. Or even the Apple Universal iPod dock from a few years back? Nope, sorry, won't charge it.
Everybody does this, constantly.
sad but true...
actually ps3 has more standard connection(hdmi, computer power cable), component(sata HDD), bluetooth than xbox360..
This is such a non story.
For years Engadget has been pushing this "upgrade at all costs" ethos, even if your "upgrade" really isn't. If this PSP has new features that your old PSP lacks and you REALLY want those features...then a whole hardware refresh, add-ons and all, is the price you'll have to pay. The point is those people are going to be VERY scarce on the ground. In fact non existent apart from the fools who subscribe to tech blogs preaching you MUST have the hardware refresh despite no actual gain.
From the arguments above you're actually BETTER off with the old hardware as you still have the option of reselling your old games. So why so butt-hurt over this?
I wasn't charmed by the device when it was first announced, mainly due to it's ugly appearance and (as Engadget has rightly pointed out) it's seeming lack of purpose.
Pricing it twice as much as the old one? Making people's existing games useless (apart from the to-be-wary-of fair trade scheme)? Neglecting support for existing peripherals?
Hey, Sony, have you heard of a little thing called the economy? Yeah, all the cool kids are talking about it.
I was REALLY willing to pay 250 for that, seriously - if it still had the mini USB.
PSP Gone! I haven't used my original PSP-1000 in 7 months for games, only as WiFi radio.
I really hope Sony change they minds about that proprietary stuff - it's a bit too late in the system lifespan for that.
But it's not too late to change it in time for the release, right? Right?
They are doing this to prepare people for the new type of gaming device.A cell phone.In a couple of years a phone will be able to display a psp quality grafix and psp will eventually diminish into oblivion.Thats why you have smaller screen(coz you can't have a 4inch screen on a mobile), bluetooth...
I am so not buying this PO' Sh..t!
Yes, a certain class of phones might be 'technically capable', but it takes far more than specs to get the weight of games companies behind you; consistency helps, a solid set of hardware helps, sane controls and comfort helps, multi-million dollar advertising helps.
Lots of people predicted the iPhone would be the premiere gaming platform. It's little more than playing on the sidelines next to dedicated devices for games for reasons I could go into but I'd rather not bore you to tears.
Proper games, proper controls, far more consistency and dedicated support for a stable hardware platform are needed for big guns to commit serious dollars on your platform - as opposed to two-minute diversions on your (ever-changing, inconsistent) phone.
@Tarnation
ummm... never mind the UMD's not being compatible...
it doesn't have a UMD slot!
Dear Engadget comments,
You fail it! Your reply-to skill is not enough, see you next time, bye-bye!
That Dingoo A320 is looking better and better all the time.
Retro heads check it out.
I was almost thinking the same thing. I wouldn't buy a Dingoo though.
Pandora.
For all the fanboys defending it, I think the main point of disenchantment here would be that the existing PSP has a mini USB port, like most devices. They bought accessories that fit that port.
Now with the next generation of the hardware, Sony has seen fit to remove that industry standard port from the hardware, thus making all the existing accessories obsolete. This appears to have been a dick move without any real motive except to push the purchase of new accessories.
What happens when you loose that proprietary cable? your going to have to go buy one instead of just using another mini-USB that you had around. .
The trade-in program and lack of a UMD drive is going to cause problems. It's also going to give places like Gamestop absolute fits.
"Now with the next generation of the hardware"
If you had the old PSP, and THIs PSP had a USB posrt AND was at the right price, would you buy it and why? It has NO new features, will not have any ACTUAL new hardware inside and so therefore would not offer ANY new gaming experience.
this is for people who don't own a current PSP, that's as clear as day. the strange few who MUST upgrade no matter the slight design refresh...you're a TINY minority...an anomaly to be ignored when making business driven decisions. Sony are not expecting those with the old PSP to buy this.
All fail systems Go...
PSP retails for $170, getting 16GB of storage for the PSP will cost you another $60-70. PSP Go isn't really much more expensive and it's not like the PSP 3000 is going away either.
well... what did everyone expect??? Remember when all the first run fatty PS2s started breaking and people had to start getting the slim PS2? it was the same bull crap, when i got my slim PS2 and had to buy a new multitap, im lucky they didnt make it worse where i had to buy new controllers.
What?! My brothers old first gen multitap works with my slim PS2...what are you on about? You bought one of those third party ones that was built to fit the SHAPE if the fatty PS2 didn't you? And somehow that was Sony's fault? If you had the one that was a box with the controler cable sticking out of it you would have been fine.
Utterly shocking to see them using non standard connections on the new PSP.................I mean every other company uses standard connections don't they?
and yes that is sarcasm.
typical of big business to focus on selling us more crap. I'm no fanboy of anything. I gave up on the PSP when they dropped the UMD movies which said to me "run away". I have a DSi now and the downloadable games promise was a lie - the game stink. I'll stick with my home console XBox 360 and Wii and when I'm out in the wilds of the real world - I may just look around and experience reality for a bit. And it will save me money.
It surprises me that a lot of previous posters on this thread, in regards to the price tag and pervious accessories not working with the new PSP-Go have said - "This really isn't that big of a deal since the PSP-Go is meant for "new" consumers".
WHAT? Most serious gamers and techies want the newest stuff, this includes NEW (even similar) gaming/entertainment equipment. And the companies that produce all this crap know it! They know that serious gamers and techies will "buy" new gear even at the cost of having to purchase all new accessories. Actually the big 3 count on it! This type of marketing really ticks me off, and as a few of you have pointed out they have been doing it for years! They can get away with it b/c people continue to shell out money for it! All us gamers and techies "want" that the new stuff so bad, that we buy it even though we are pissed at the companies for rolling this crap out in unconsumer friendly fashions. but we do it, and that's all these gaming companies care about.
Well, I don't think they have accounted for the several millions of Americans that do not have jobs this year! And upping the price tag of the "same" device by 50% (excluding all new accessories), well isn't the brightest idea. As many have pointed out, the PSP-Go isn't a "new" platform but simply a PSP in a new case for $250.00, WHAT? Wow, Sony, what are you doing? Trying to pull another one over our eyes and our wallets? - Interesting, very interesting.....
This is one gamer/techy that isn't falling for it this time!
Yet APPLE can come out with yet another different iteration of the iPod and millions are sold.
"Most serious gamers and techies want the newest stuff, this includes NEW (even similar) gaming/entertainment equipment"
Right and the point so far has been these people you speak of are FEW and far between. Sony can't balance the books with a handful of fanboys who INSIST the latest non update is a MUST purchase. This will in NO way improve your PSP experience, so why replace an old PSP with this one? It literally makes NO sense. A Hardcore gamer will UPGRADE for added benefits (better graphics. speed, refresh rate, controller response) not because it looks different. You're saying you expect "hardcore gamers" to re-purchase their consoles every time MS or Sony release one of those limited edition designer consoles with a crappy design on it from some game their trying to push? I doubt it.
Much ado about nothing.
You still have the option of buying the PSP3000.